do the impulses that move through our body move anywhere close to the speed of light

[Money]

i know it sounds funny and is kind of a mix between

relativity and biology but i learned that the message

that is sent to your brain is made of electricity

for example, when you touch a hot stove the

message that is sent to your brain is made of

electricity so isn't that pure energy and isn't light pure energy

i know it cant go as fast as light because it has to move from cell

to cell to get to the brain but does it move close to the speed

of light???

and the speed of light is an instant arrival right??

i mean if something could move at the speed of light

it would be at its destination in an instant well if

someone has a good nervous system aren't some peoples

reaction at an instant so cant the message be moving close

to the speed of light?

for example. touching the hot stove with a good nervous system

don't some people move there hand the second they touch the stove

wouldn't that be considered an instant?

[Paralith]

Nerve impulses do not move at the speed off light. An electric pulse, and electric energy, is not the same as light energy.

 

A nerve cell, or neuron, at rest (not transmitting a signal) maintains an electric gradient; that is, the inside of the cell is more negative than the outside of the cell. When the neuron receieves of signal of some kind (whether it be input from your sensory cells or a signal from another neuron), this gradient changes dramatically. It happens very fast, but it's still not the same as the speed of light; it does take a few miliseconds. For more details about the mechanism check out this wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_potentials

It's pretty thorough.

[YT2095]

something like 200MPH for nerve signals IIRC.

that`s a little short of 186,000+ Miles per Second

[Glider]

Conduction velocities vary between nerve types. The velcoties of big, fast sensory and motor neurons is between 300 and 400 metres per second. In small, non myelinated C fibres, it's only about 0.5 - 2.0 metres per second (C fibres are associated with slow, burning/aching pain like you'd get from YT's chillis)..

 

That's why when you stub your toe, you feel the impact immediately, but you also get that split second when you realise that it's really going to hurt. Then it does.

[insane_alien]

/me hums the tune to ring of fire.

[Infinitus]

Another thing that i feel is important to note is that Lightining is a distinct state of matter known as plasma which is typically an ionized gas, lightining has the capablility of traversing distances as 100,000MPH ( Which you will notice is NOT the speed of light or in excess of it) with temperatures as high as 28,000 Degrees C. That is hot enough for soil and sand to fuse together into glass channels. Now just imagine that running through your cells between your nerve cells and your brain.

[Money]

i understand and im feelin your quote lol

[insane_alien]

yes but nerve endings are a tad gentler than the several million volts of a lightning strike. that doesn't change the laws of physics. the delay in nerves is because the signal spends most of its time in chemical form. this introduces a bit of lag into the system and slows its propagation.